On Saturday, December 21, 243 students – 146 undergraduate and 97 graduate – celebrated their commencement from the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University.
Some will continue their education immediately, pursuing advanced degrees and other academic opportunities. Others will focus on their professional careers, ready to make their mark on a wide range of fields and industries.
Wherever our students go, they’ll go proudly, as members of the Mountaineer Nation.
“As our graduates step off the commencement stage, they step into the next chapter of their lives,” said Josh Hall, Milan Puskar Dean of the Chambers College. “They carry with them a deep understanding of the power of collaboration, innovation and perseverance – qualities that will help them shape the future of not only West Virginia, but the world.”
Ciara Davis-McCloy: Building Tomorrow’s Mountaineers
M.S. Economics
“I graduated high school in 2011,” said Weston native Ciara Davis-McCloy. “I came back in 2015, and I'm now teaching in the classroom that I was once a student in.”
As a math teacher at Lewis County High School, Davis-McCloy is no stranger to the Chambers College. In 2020, she participated in Finance University, a faculty-driven initiative to certify West Virginia K-12 educators to teach personal finance.
It was through Finance University that she met Cate Johnson, director of the Kendrick Center for an Ethical Economy.
“One conversation with Cate and I was hooked,” Davis-McCloy said. “I wanted to be able to bring this information back to my students.”
That led to Davis-McCloy joining the pilot cohort of the Kendrick Educators Program, which offers scholarships to West Virginia teachers to help them pursue graduate degrees in economics. Like Finance University participants, they then return to their students with newfound knowledge to share.
“What helped was the pilot group,” Davis-McCloy said. “I wouldn’t have made it through the program without them. I had multiple surgeries during this degree, and being able to lean on them made a huge difference.”
Now, returning to her own classroom with a new degree in hand, Davis-McCloy has high hopes for the future of Lewis County and beyond.
“We have about 650 kids,” said Davis-McCloy. “The graduates that go straight into the workforce or into a trade school definitely outnumber the graduates going to college. For them, knowing how the market works can help them make better-informed decisions in life.
“As the Kendrick Educators Program continues to grow, I’m hopeful that they can get a teacher from every county to participate and give all the kids in West Virginia a chance to become independent thinkers.”
Joshua Freeman: Finding a Professional Path
B.S.B.A.D. Accounting & Finance
Raised in Bridgeport, only 45 minutes away from WVU's Morgantown campus, Joshua Freeman grew up surrounded by Mountaineer culture – a culture that helped him foster his passions and cultivate his future.“I actually came in as exercise physiology,” Freeman said, “But I just kept on trying different things."
Trying different things eventually led Freeman to the Chambers College, where he decided to major in Accounting and Finance. However, he already had a personal connection to those fields.
“Growing up, my dad consistently taught my sister and I about personal finance, so I was really used to the subject,” Freeman said. “I’ve always had an interest in it.”
Once Freeman started his classes in the Chambers College, he knew he was in the right place – he just needed help finding the right career path.
Enter Finance Instructor Joseph DeGroff, who offered Freeman a position as a peer financial coach for university students and local community members.
“My team and I give presentations to different organizations that request it,” Freeman said. “For example, we work with the BCOR 199 students and the Purpose Center. I also work with one of the local stores and teach a personal finance class there.”
Through his role in the PFC program, Freeman has learned how to apply what he’s learned in a real-world setting.
“I learned the theory in the classroom, and learned how to apply it through the PFC program,” Freeman said. “Because financial advisory is something that's kind of self-started, having a level of structured understanding is beneficial.”
Thanks to his resolve and unwillingness to settle, Freeman has been able to turn his passion into his purpose – and, one day, he’ll turn it into his profession.
“I love working one-on-one with people and teaching about personal finance,” Freeman said. “I could see myself being a financial advisor, a professor, or a combination of both in the future.”
Tess Lee: Lessons in Leadership
B.S.B.A.D. Managment Information Systems
“We're like a family here, and we want to see people growing,” said New Jersey native Tess Lee.
Lee’s love of WVU stems from the lessons she's been taught in and out of the classroom by faculty like Associate Professor Brad Price, Teaching Assistant Professor Vincent Dobilas, Adjunct Professor Jaren Straughn and Assistant Professor Christopher Ramezan.
“I remember bombing one of Dr. Ramezan’s tests the first time around,” Lee said. “I reached out to him about my performance on that exam and went to him for help.
“He emailed me after my second exam, because I did significantly better, and said he was so glad to see that it improved. I think he gave me the encouragement to try a little bit harder in all areas of my education.”
With newfound determination, Lee found herself pursuing more opportunities with the support of her professors: interning at Counterpart International and HeadOn, participating in Delta Sigma Pi and the Asian Association, and even mentoring her peers as a teaching assistant and Chambers Ambassador.
“It’s okay to make mistakes,” Lee said. “It’s normal not to be perfect at everything you do the first time, especially in the workplace.”
Taking these lessons with her into her future career, Lee is ready to tackle professional challenges – and to help others do the same.
“I want to go into a more non-technical aspect of MIS,” Lee said. “I realized that I enjoy coding, but don’t want to do it full-time. I think I would like a project manager position, though. I could understand the technical concepts that I learned in class and help oversee projects.”
And for future students, Lee herself has one word of advice: “Pursue whatever you want to pursue.”
-WVU-
Andrew Marvin and Emma Higgins
12/21/24
MEDIA CONTACT:
Andrew Marvin
Senior Communications Specialist
John Chambers College of Business and Economics
andrew.marvin@mail.wvu.edu
